The Mount St. Helens Institute offers several diverse opportunities for visitors to experience the mountain beyond simple day trips.

• Sign up for one of our  Sunday Snow Shoeing Adventures or Sunday Hikes
• Climb Mount St. Helens 
• Attend one of our 2009 work party events
• Become a Volcano Volunteer - Interpret geology and the biology of recovery for visitors
• Join the MSHI Conservation Corps - Crew in the summer of 2009 to help with trail and resource management projects.
• Field Seminars, - Deepen your experience of the mountain, its geology and the biology of recovery.

• Become a Mountain Steward - Provide resource protection to the Monitor Ridge climbing route and Mount Margaret Backcountry, while addressing safety concerns and interpretive information with visitors to those areas.

The following images provide a virtual tour of some of the exciting volcanic and biological phenomena you may experience when you visit Mount St. Helens.

Climbing Returns To Mount St. Helens

The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, along with the Mount St. Helens Institute announce that climb permits are available for 2008! Interested in climbing? Please click on the links to the right and visit the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument's frequently asked questions webpage for answers regarding the climbing permit system.

During the winter months (November 1- March 31) climbing permits are free and available through self-issue 24 hours a day at Climbers Register. Climbing registration is required. The Climbers Register is located outside at Lone Fir Resort in Cougar, WA. 

Want a preview of what you'll see at the top?

Courtesy of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, click here to see a photo of the crater and a diagram of the geological view from the crater rim that you can print and carry with you on the climb. Have a great climb!

Geological Resources for climbers

There is a Geologic guide to the Monitor Ridge climbing route, Mount St. Helens, Washington, by William M. Phillips. It was originally published in the Washington Geological Newsletter 15 (4) 1987. It has been reprinted as Oregon Geology 50 (3) and is available by mail or in person at Nature of the Northwest www.naturenw.org (503) 872-2750. It is also available as a PDF document on the Oregon Department of Geology website.